The Skillful Teacher

Evolving Public Ground Rules for Discussion
The value of evolving ground rules applies online as much as in
face-to-face classroom discussion. Adapting the ground rules exer-
cises described in Chapter Eight, online learners can talk about
their best and worst discussion experiences and then use these to
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suggest ground rules that are clearly transferable to online situations.
These ground rules can then be supplemented by instructors who
have accumulated a rich store of “letters from online successors.” In
the “letter to successors” exercise, current students are asked to com-
pose a letter that will be sent to new students who are entering the
same course the next time it is offered. The letter puts into print
the departing students’ insights about how to survive the experience.
Such letters often suggest that contributions to online discus-
sion should be concise, leave room for others to contribute, include
plenty of responses that affirm and build on what others have
offered, combine personal stories and anecdotes with broadly appli-
cable conclusions and generalization, focus on questions as much as
answers, emphasize responding as much as initiating, and build in
time to circle back and revisit discussion postings which participants
have contributed days before. Instructors can propose specific
ground rules that ensure such behaviors are present, as well as build-
ing on students’ suggestions that emerge.